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1: Biographer DAVID HAJDU. He's just written "Lush Life: A Biography of Billy Strayhorn" (Farrar, Straus and Girous). The book not only explores the life of Strayhorn, a Duke Ellington collaborator, but also the lives of other black and gay artists in New York from the 1930s to the 1960s. Under Ellington, Strayhorn composed "Take the 'A' Train," "Lush Life" and "Something to Live For." But he did not gain much recognition and has been called "the great unsung hero of American music." HAJDU is an editor for "Entertainment Weekly."

Fresh Air book critic, Maureen Corrigan has more suggestions for summer reading: "A Little Yellow Dog" by Walter Mosely (W.W. Norton); "Cause of Death" by Patricia Cornwell (G.P. Putmans Sons); and "Lily White," by Susan Isaacs (HarperCollins).INT. 2:A concert and interview with vocalist SUSANNAH MCCORKLE. Last week she finished a cabaret of Cole Porter tunes in New York City. "The Passionate Cole Porter" was an attempt by MCCORKLE to prove that Porter was not an unfeeling observer of romance. Included in the show was "The Censorship Medley," six songs denied radio air play because of their sexual content. She also has a CD featuring Cole Porter tunes, "Easy To Love" (Concord Jazz). MCCORKLE is the youngest singer ever to be included in the Smithsonian Institution''s "Popular Music Record Series."

Commentator Joe Laconte [lah-KAHN-tee] says The Founders of the United States made a bold gamble: there would be no national church, but there would be "a nation under God."

The first residents of Celebration, Florida are moving in. The town is a development run by the Disney corporation near their theme parks. Designed to encourage community spirit and interaction between neighbors, shopping streets are within walking distance of each home and the houses have large front porches. The cost of houses range from about $200,000 to a million dollars.

- Joe Neel reports from Vancouver Canada where an International AIDS Conference is taking place. Experts there are hopeful of a new treatment that reduces the level of HIV infection to undetectable levels.

reports that the Japanese computer chip industry has managed to maintain its competitive world position despite a four-year recession by continuing to invest in research and development.

- Daniel talks with former Olympic sprinter and biomechanics researcher Ralph Mann about the physical attributes of a successful sprinter. Mann says that the trick to running quickly is reducing the amount of time a runner's feet spend on the ground.

NPR's John Nielsen reports that President Clinton has called for a meeting between Congress, the FBI and himself on ways to combat terrorism.

Manager of the rock band Aerosmith, TIM COLLINS. Recently, (July 20, 1996) he wrote on Op-Ed piece for the New York Times about the drug problem in the music industry. COLLINS is a former addict and in his early days with Aerosmith, he often procured drugs for the band. In 1984, he helped the band reform from addiction and widened the band's appeal to international audiences. He believes managers and music executives need to work with musicians to overcome the systemic use and abuse of drugs. COLLINS works in Cambridge, MA as the founder and president of Collins Management.

is run in a very autocratic way by the royal family which doesn't brook any dissent...